Indonesia: a suicide attack in a police station leaves several injured
A man tried to break into a police station in the Indonesian province of Java.
The suicide attack left two dead - the perpetrator and a policeman - and injured 10 people.
REUTERS - WILLY KURNIAWAN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
A man tried to break into a police station in the Indonesian province of Java.
The suicide attack left two dead - the perpetrator and a policeman - and injured 10 people.
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No indication of the motive for this attack has been given by the authorities of the archipelago, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world which has been plagued by Islamist activism for years.
The explosion occurred around 08:00 (01:00 UT) at the premises of the Astana Anyar police station in Bandung, capital of the most populous province of Indonesia, killing the author of suicide bombing.
“
A man tried to break in and the police tried to arrest him
,” West Java Police Chief Suntana said.
A second explosive device was later found nearby and was safely detonated by police deminers, according to the same source.
"
The assailant insisted on approaching our officers brandishing a knife and suddenly an explosion occurred
," he said.
The attack left one dead - a policeman - and ten injured, including a civilian who was passing by.
The penal code deemed “
unfaithful
”
The perpetrator of the attack, whose identity has not been revealed, landed at the police station on a blue motorcycle, a white sheet of paper with a message stuck to his vehicle.
The message condemned
Indonesia's penal code
as an "
infidel
" law and called for war on law enforcement, according to police.
Didin Khaerudin, a trader, was at the scene of the explosion when it took place.
“
I heard a bang, it was so loud.
I peeked inside the police office and saw heavy smoke billowing
,” Khaeruddin told AFP.
Indonesia has experienced several terrorist attacks in the past, including one on the tourist island of Bali in 2002. Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants set off bombs in a nightclub and bar, killing more than 200 people.
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To read also:
Indonesia: what consequences after the release of Islamist leader Abu Bakar Bashir?
(
With AFP
)
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